Welcome Home, My Son
by pottergoose
Summary: My own take on what happens after Harry Potter dies, many years after the epilogue, and who he is greeted by when he is welcomed in heaven. Please read and review!


**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything involved. This great honor goes to the wonderful J.K. Rowling.**

**So I am writing this on a whim. This is my first attempt at a narrative. I was recently asked to submit some of my writing for a Harry Potter convention as a way to promote the fan fiction readings at the con. So instead of submitting a pre written work, this is what came to mind, I hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think.**

**Welcome Home, My Son**

It had been a cold Tuesday in January when it occurred. A man of ninety-three years of age had died that day. He had lived a long, fulfilling, yet at times, arduous life; and welcomed death with open arms. While he had no previous family of his own, as they were all lost due to terrible war and various other reasons, he had the chance to not only watch his own children grow up, but his grandchildren as well. This man also happened to be a wizard.

You are probably asking yourself who this man is, and what importance he may play in this story. This was no ordinary man, nor was he even an ordinary wizard. His name was Harry Potter, and he was the savior of the wizarding world. In his early days, he had helped defeat one of the darkest wizards known to mankind. The same dark wizard who had killed his parents, as well as many other innocent souls. But enough about this man's history, that is not why I brought you here today. Let me mention now, it is also not important how he died, but what came after his death.

As I already mentioned, Harry Potter had died at the age of ninety-three, with his loved ones by his side. As his body took its final breath, Harry could feel himself floating as his soul left the lifeless body below him. Above him, Harry saw a beam of light, welcoming him as he drifted higher. After what seemed like an eternity, his feet reached ground again as he was greeted by two massive pearly white gates, open for him to step through. As he took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and took the step through the gates, he was surrounded by thunderous applause. Opening his eyes, he found himself in a massive pool of wizards, all cheering and clapping for him. There seemed to be thousands of wizards and witches there, just hoping to catch a glimpse of the man who saved the wizarding world from a terrible fate. Harry bowed his head, and thanked the crowd in front of him. As he made his way through it, his mind seemed to be set on finding a certain group of witches and wizards. After several thank yous and handshakes, he was greeted with the first person he had been seeking out. This was a young man with bright orange-red hair and a mischievous air about him.

"Hello, Harry!" the young man exclaimed. With a jolt of excitement, Harry felt his youthfulness come back as he ran into Fred's arms.

"Fred, it's been a long time! We all missed you so much!" Harry said happily, as he pulled back from the hug to have a better look.

Fred smiled at his brother's best friend. "Sometimes I wish I could go back. I wonder, if I hadn't teased Percy about actually making a joke, may things ended up differently? I mean, George is practically hopeless without me there. Not to mention the fact that he married my girlfriend!" Fred said in shock horror. "But don't worry; do you remember when George mysteriously woke up with blue hair several years after I died?" Harry thought for a moment, and nodded. "You can thank me…I may have been a little upset about him marrying Angelina, so I thought a little twin pranking was in order," he grinned at Harry.

Harry laughed wholeheartedly. "And that's the humor I missed when you were gone. It's really good to see you, and we need to catch up," he started, as his eyes started to drift to the person standing behind Fred. Fred took notice, and stepped aside, allowing Harry to meet the rest of his guests. He moved onto the person standing behind Fred.

"Harry, m'boy," Albus Dumbledore said with pride.

"Hello sir. I just want to thank you for everything you taught me. If it weren't for you, not only would I not be the man I am today, but I may never have defeated Voldemort."  
Albus smiled and thought for a moment. "Thank you for the kind words, Harry, but I do believe Miss Granger, ahem, I mean Mrs. Weasley, can take some credit for that as well." They both chuckled lightly. "I helped set the stones in motion, but she found the clues that helped you in the end. You and your friends have done some things I could have only dreamt of… Instead, I was foolish. I followed greed and power. It led me to do terrible things. I even let my own sister die at the hands of my ignorance."

"Sir, while I resented you when I first found out, I have come to not only accept what had happened as the past, but forgiven you for it as well. Thank you for everything, sir," Harry shook his hand, as he walked away from him.

A short way's behind stood a man Harry was slightly surprised to see. This man was tall, with dark, slick, greasy hair and a pointed nose. This was a man Harry had once considered his rival, his enemy, someone he seemed to hate as a student at Hogwarts. The man nodded curtly at Harry. Harry took a breath and made his way over.

"Hello sir," Harry said quietly and nervously, suddenly feeling like he was fifteen again, rather than a man of a much older age.

"Potter, I am not quite sure what I am doing here, but Albus said it may be good for me, whatever that means," Severus Snape drawled.

"Well, sir. I just wanted to thank you," Snape's mouth opened wide in shock. "No, I mean it. I watched those memories you gave to me that night you died." Severus' mouth quickly snapped shut as he listened, unsure of what Potter was to say next. "What you did for my mother, for me, for the wizarding world, I could not be more grateful. You braved your own life, as well as the life of all the innocent souls of Hogwarts to save us. I don't like the way you treated myself or my father, but if it weren't for you, I would have been dead maybe in my first year alone. There is no need for you to say anything. I just wanted to say a big thank you for all that you have done." Harry took that moment to nod at his old professor a second time, and step away. But before he made it too far, he turned back and said, "Oh, and by the way, I named my son after one of the bravest men I have ever met. His first name is Albus, his second name is Severus."

Harry walked on, leaving the professor quite shaken up, with much to think about. He continued shaking hands and greeting more people, as his eyes set out for a certain couple in the midst. Although the couple he found was not the one he was searching for, he was quite happy to see this couple. Harry walked up to them and gave each a quick hug.

"Harry, I just would like to say thank you so much. I know you've just heard about a hundred times in the last three minutes, but…"

"Remus, I know what you're going to say. Don't worry about…"  
"No wait, let me say this. Please. Harry, you were there when we couldn't be there for our son. You took him in, raised him as your own, and cared for him. It was more than anything we could have asked of you."

"Yes, well, after my upbringing, I couldn't let Teddy have a similar situation happen to him. Andromeda was getting older in age, and it was growing increasingly more difficult for her to raise him. Besides, as someone once mentioned, that is the duties of a good godfather, don't you think?" Harry smirked. Remus smirked right back.

"Did someone mention godfather?" a voice from behind Harry spoke. Harry grinned as he spun around to meet his own godfather.

"Sirius!" he exclaimed, sounding like a young schoolboy after seeing the man he considered to be a second father for the short time he had come to know him. As the pair hugged for quite some time, Harry had not noticed another pair come up the rear, waiting for their turn. Harry suddenly felt their presence though, and pulled away from the hug to see who was interrupting Harry's reunion with his godfather. Sirius nodded at Harry, urging him to turn around with a smile planted on his face.

Harry took a deep breath, with good suspicion of who happened to be standing at the rear of him. He let a smile creep onto his face as he slowly turned around to face his own parents for the first time in ninety-two years. As tears started to freely flow from his eyes, Harry quickly latched onto his mother. Lily Potter nee Evans held on tightly to her son as her own tears continued falling. "Harry," could be heard coming from her mouth several times as the mother and son continued to embrace. Harry soon pulled away to take a better look at his own mother, only to find his own emerald eyes staring into hers. Before he was able to speak a word, he then turned to James Potter, his father, and in turn, embraced him in a long hug. This was a reunion Harry Potter had waited nearly a century to happen.

Lily sniffled. "Oh, my dear Harry. My dear baby! My handsome son! Look at you! So grown up, so handsome. The last time I saw you, I was changing your diaper. And here you are now, grown, with children and grandchildren. I couldn't be more proud of you," Lily beamed at her son as she hugged him yet again. James just looked on and smiled with pride.

"Mum, dad," Harry said, wiping a tear from his eye, "I can't believe I'm finally seeing you. Sure I have seen you in a few memories, in the stories Remus and Sirius told, and in apparitions there to help me, but never like this. And I'm absolutely speechless. I can't think of a thing to say to you!"

"That's all right, son," James said softly. "You don't have to say anything at all. We are so proud of you, of everything you have accomplished, from defeating Voldemort, to getting married and having your own children, to becoming head of the Auror office. Being able to do what we couldn't, watch as your children grew up and had families of their own. I wish we could have been there for you, but we were always there watching over you son."

"I know."

"Harry, although I would have liked to see you sooner, I'm glad you lived such a long, beautiful life. There's nothing more I could have wished for you," Lily said with a smile on her face.

"Thank you mum. I am so happy to finally see you. All these years, I've dreamt of meeting you, bringing you back to life, just to catch a real life glimpse of you. But I am glad I waited. Nothing can quite describe the feeling that runs through me right now. And nothing will ever feel the way this moment has captured me again. I've waited years to finally meet you! It's like a dream come true. Sure, that sounds cliché, but it's true. And as we speak, I have thought of exactly what I wish to say to you. Thank you for saving my life and being exactly who you are," he said with a final hug between the three of them, as James Potter whispered in his ear, "Welcome home, my son."


End file.
